blood oxygen levels??

My dad is on oxygen, but only uses it when he is feeling tired. (He was on it 24 hours a day until he got a new 3-lead pacemaker which has him feeling almost new!) But every time we go see the doctor, they measure his blood oxygen levels. What numbers should we be looking for? I don’t know if he is high or low in oxygen levels, and so I don’t know whether to remind him to use his oxygen at night or let him use it only when he remembers. Thanks for any help!

They’re probably checking oxygen saturation (also called O-sats or sats). Usually that number is expressed in terms of a percentage, with most healthy patients showing 98-100%.

These are questions you should be asking HIS Doctor.
For the most part, he will know when he need his supplemental oxygen. You however do need to understand his condition better if you are caring for him, or just spending time around him.

Your Father might have a saturation level in the low 90’s if he has COPD or some other obstructive disorder.
I have seen Pt’s in the upper 80’s and they are comfortable until something excites them.(this is with sensor’s, not blood gases)

Slight nitpick - 96% to 100% is considered normal.

Thanks for the info so far. I AM discussing these things with his doctor, but since there is so much else to go over (is his new pacemaker doing everything it is supposed to, do we need to tweak it, do we need to adjust meds, how much pain medication can he have before it starts affecting other things (like his CHF), is his diabetes under control, etc.) the percentage of oxygen gets glossed over. Low to normal, or ok, considering…is fine, but it doesn’t tell me what it should be. I write notes like crazy, and then get home and realize that I forgot to ask something.

Let me tell you, getting old is NOT for the faint-hearted!

Back in 1990/1992, both my mother and father were tested while in a hospital, I don’t knowwhether for blood oxygen levels or blood gases, if they are even different things. The test required a needle stuck down into the inside of their wrist to draw blood. They really had to dig around to find the proper blood vessel, too.

Now, both my mom and dad were were strong willed people, and pain did not easily bother them, but this procedure was very painful to both of them and I could tell they were deeply affected by the procedure. After seeing this procedure done on them, I vowed that I would have to be heavily sedated before I would let it be done to me.

Was this the same test? Is this same thing now done by using the fingertip sensors?

Could you have mistaken, Blood is almost always taken from the antecubital vein inside the elbow.
This is the same placement for blood draw at a blood donor clinic.

No, the finger tip sensor is not as accurate as a blood draw that is processed in the Lab.
Sensors work very well when we need to know a ballpark saturation real fast.

While it’s true that most blood draws are done from the vein at the elbow, ABG (arterial blood gas) levels must be drawn from an artery. The inside of the wrist is a common place for this. The sample must also be taken very promptly to the lab for accurate results - this isn’t something that can sit in the lab tech’s basket while they go do other draws. (At some hospitals this draw is done by respiratory therapists rather than phlebotomists. Things vary by location.)

Airway
Breathing
Circulation

Just remember to ask about his ABC

not to be confused with ABG, the test he was recieving.